"Ghost in the Shell" Is Actually Pretty Good

It's been 22 years since Ghost in the Shell hit theaters, but in a sense, the film has never really gone away. Based on Masamune Shirow's 1989 manga, the Japanese anime has spawned sequels, video games, and television series. More crucially, the film's dystopian, future-shock tension has been felt in later movies such as The Matrix and Avatar.

Borrowing from Blade Runner and Robocop, Ghost in the Shell envisioned a society in which man and machine would become inseparable—and that reality itself would become almost impossible to gauge. As A.I. and virtual reality become commonplace in our daily lives, Ghost in the Shell's prophecy only seems more prescient.

The weight of that 1995 sci-fi classic helmed by Mamoru Oshii hangs heavy over director Rupert Sanders' big-budget Hollywood remake, but this live-action reimagining ends up being pretty superb in its own right. Scarlett Johansson's intense performance helps a lot, but this new version also wisely recognizes that it can't just mimic the original's themes. After all, by this point they're well-worn genre tropes. Instead, this Ghost in the Shell brings other flavors into the mix. The result is a visually stunning thriller that is surprisingly emotional and enthralling.

*Mild Spoilers Ahead*

The film stars Johansson as the Major, a cyborg with a synthetic body but the mind of a human being. Saved from a near-fatal accident, she is now an elite soldier who helps track down a large metropolis' most dangerous criminals. Adjusting to her new body and new life, the Major works alongside fellow soldiers like the hard-ass Batou (Pilou Asbæk) in their search for the mysterious Kuze (Michael Carmen Pitt), a terrorist who seems determined to kill all those around her—including Dr. Ouelet (Juliette Binoche), the kindly scientist who oversees the program that designed the Major.

Using the 1995 movie as its starting point, the new Ghost in the Shell copies specific scenes from the original. But Sanders (who previously made the dull Snow White and the Huntsman) amplifies the dark tone and dystopian worldview. The universe of this Ghost in the Shell, as dreamed up by production designer Jan Roelfs and cinematographer Jess Hall, takes the looming skyscrapers, ubiquitous advertising and gloomy skies of Blade Runner and Minority Report and makes them even more imposing and bleak and gorgeous. There's a hypnotic grandeur to this remake's dystopian nightmare—sleek, chilly, eerily beautiful—that's always enrapturing to the eye.

Along the way, Sanders offers surprises for those who know the original. It would be unfair to reveal any spoilers, but let's just say that this Ghost in the Shell is more invested in the Major learning how she became a lethal killing machine. The ethics of artificial intelligence—always central to this franchise—remain an integral element of this remake, but Sanders augments it with other concerns. As with the best science fiction, the new film uses the genre as a way to comment on modern times, and indeed everything from drone warfare to the horror of child abuse is woven into the movie's fabric, but never heavy-handedly and often with intelligence and sensitivity.

What sells this Ghost, though, is Johansson—even with the burning controversy over her place in the film. Ever since the Golden Globe-nominated actress was cast as the lead in such an iconic Asian franchise, the film has been dogged by myriad accusations of whitewashing (a charge that the movie ends up addressing in its own way, though it's best to leave just how as a surprise). Indeed, this remake again demonstrates that there are far too few high-profile Asian stars who would have been able to get the movie green-lit, and the pushback has clearly had its effect on the film. Buzz has been low, press screenings came late, and Johansson didn't even mention Ghost during this month's appearance on "Saturday Night Live," whose monologue is nakedly a platform for the host to plug a new movie. But one must give Johansson her due, as she proves to be a worthy Major.

The truth is, several recent roles have prepared her to play this deadly commando. Take her confident turn as the ass-kicking Black Widow, the serenely murderous heroine in Lucy, and the spooky, otherworldly alien from Under the Skin, and you'll get a sense of how she brings the Major to life. Initially impassive until she gradually connects with her humanity, the Major discovers that what she knows is a lie, and Johansson sells that transformation, turning the character into an avenging angel you want to root for.

Johansson isn't the only standout. Asbæk is an imposing, believable Batou, all the way down to the prosthetic eyes that have always been the character's trademark. As Kuze, Pitt is menacing but also deeply scarred by a dark secret, making him an uncommonly vulnerable bad guy. And "Beat" Takeshi Kitano gives off a regal glow as the Major's commanding officer: Watching the veteran actor-director of art-house hits like Fireworks once again wield a gun with that deadpan menace is particularly thrilling.

It's inevitable that this remake, like the Major herself, will be spooked by echoes of the past. But perhaps it's appropriate for a film about the fluidity of reality and identity to say that this Ghost in the Shell is a very satisfying simulation of the original.

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